Neil

I'm sort of relieved at times I don't have access to Sky Sports programmes, due to the constant commentary from such pugnacious, uninformed, gobs***e cretins such as Mr Gray.

Nile Ranger playing with his early Christmas present.

But in an age where entertainment value is often emphasised, can Drogba fall over in such a hideously comical fashion as Shola? I rest my case.

Exactly what position are Newcastle in to turn him down?

So how exactly does he do that from the sidelines? He hardly covered himself in glory today but the players have to be made accountable. Such quality in that team today does not equate to a 2-2 draw against an average at best 10 man PL side at home. But nah, it was all JK's fault. KINNEAR OUT!!1111111

So basically the conclusion of all this is that I can be a lawyer with A level law. Lovely jubbly.

I think that is a great question. I think I was discussing this with a friend recently. It's an interesting thought, and I for one can't really explain the lack of young footballers emerging from that area of the world. It's strange.

I thought it was usually 4? Is there no end to this Ranger lad's talent!? He only scored 3 last week though, so has to get 5 to get back to 4 goals a game. Ah, impressive. Showing an appreciation of the importance of the mean value, and also understanding the concept of standard deviation. He's a smart'un.

I thought it was usually 4? Is there no end to this Ranger lad's talent!?

The games keep on getting bigger as the weeks go by for Newcastle. Whilst I suggested earlier in the week that the defeat to Fulham wasn't that much of a body blow, it does in the same breath make this game doubly important. A passionate home crowd as per, combined with a motivated set of players should see the points staying at SJP. Much of the pre-match talk has been about whether Owen will be recalled, and in all likelihood, he will. (Though, it would be a refreshing sight to see JK keep faith in Martins and Ameobi who, let's face it, haven't done an awful lot wrong). The thing with Owen is however, he is always liable to get on the end of a through ball, a loose pass, etc. Put it this way, when you've got the goal at your mercy from 10 yards out, who out of Owen, Shola or Martins would you want to be the offensive player on the ball? As much as it'd be nice to see Martins smash the ball at 2,864.67km/h, or Shola fall over in an ever-comical fashion, I'd want Owen there. Granted, a goal is not guaranteed, as last weekend showed. But I digress. These are the sorts of games where I think we could just see the best of Jonas. It's a game against, quite frankly, mediocre opposition, in terms of the PL at least. It's a game that provided he gets on the ball enough, havoc can be caused. If he compliments his tehnical skills and speed with the right attitude (which, I must say, at Fulham didn't seem to be entirely there throughout), then Wigan will be in deep, errr, waste material. In terms of what Wigan have to offer, if Heskey isn't playing then I must say, it's a huge blow to them. Whilst Zaki has been getting the plaudits for some excellent striker's play (and rightly so), Heskey continues to work his socks off, winning aerial battles, holding the play up for midfielders to join the attack, and generally give defenders an uncomfortable afternoon. Zaki without Heskey is not the same as the Zaki with Heskey, but with the Newcastle defence always liable to get up to their old tricks of, well, generally not defending, either of these 2 players could cause problems. But with the home support, a JK pep-talk and Cacapa leading the line (well, maybe not), a home win looks likely. So for me, a 2-1 win to Newcastle, although I doubt it will be as straightforward as some people seem to be suggesting. Owen to get a goal to make an average performance look good, and Jonas to get the other in a MOM performance. Ameobi to fall over 3 times or more, as well. I can also see Wigan taking the lead. A win from that situation would be an ideal afternoon's work.

0.67 miles PR Newcastle United Football Club NE1 4ST 1.32 miles EIHL Mobilx Newcastle Vipers NE4 7NA 1.32 miles BL Newcastle Eagles NE4 7NA 3.48 miles PR Newcastle Falcons NE13 8AF 9.42 miles D1 Durham CCC DH3 3QR 10.03 miles PR Sunderland AFC SR5 1SU 25.68 miles L1 Hartlepool United Football Club TS24 BBZ 32.02 miles PR Middlesbrough Football Club TS3 32.89 miles L2 Darlington Football Club DL2 1DL 52.18 miles L1 Carlisle United Football Club CA1 1LL 119.91 miles PR Everton Football Club L4 4EL

Will there be any merchandise to commemorate Keane's inevitable departure? DVD? Mug?

I can't say I'm clued up on all the teams in League 2/Scottish football, is 2/1 a value bet for Dagenham like? Good away form? Luton not recovering from their deduction? Otherwise seems a decent shout.

What defence exactly has Drogba got here? Provocation? Incomprehendibly wages come with big responsibilities. He needs to show them.

Ok, what do you suggest? Ring the Guardian

cockney mafia outt!!1

Cheers from me to everyone who's helped! Was getting worried when I kept getting the "you hopefully should be able to access .org" message back on .com, when I couldn't Aye, seems quicker. Good job.

Are they gonna be really really tired for the rest of the season or what? a legit question imo wasnt that what you said after the game a st. james too? Which is why I'm going to stick to my prediction of Villa being unable to compete effectively on both the domestic and European front. Pleased to see them doing well in Europe and I genuinely hope they get far. But, I just can't see them getting past, say the quarters of the UEFA cup, AND finish 5th. I speak from last season's experience, unfortunately. Which is also pretty much what I've been saying on here all season. We could do well in the UEFA, we could feasibly finish 5th in the league, but we're not going to break the top four, not this season. For me it is about finishing 5th or 6th and cementing our position in the "best of the rest" group. Whether we'll finish 5th or do well in the UEFA or neither, I honestly don't know, but you'd struggle to find a Villa fan who really thinks we're going to do great things in the league this year. Sounds so easy Make sure you have a chairman who's willing to back the club after consolidating a good season with another good performance. *Angry sigh*

Today was just one of those days that Newcastle should forget. Aside from a period of domination at the start of the 2nd half, until the penalty (see below), it was a fairly insipid performance. But, this needn't be a huge blow. It's a setback, yeah, but with the 2 wins preceding this, although some momentum may have been lost, it doesn't suddenly shatter the season. With Wigan at home next week, there is an ideal chance to get back to winning ways at the first time of asking. Not saying it will be a simple win, but certainly a likely one, if some issues can be addressed. Taylor was a miss. Aye, I said that. I don't want to blame the defeat on Cacapa (Cashhaapa, according to Jonathan Pearce), but the first one has to be blamed on him. The header was poor, yes, but if he had been aware of what was around him in the first place, he would know that it was safe to leave it. Given perhaps should have taken control of the situation more (his command of the penalty area is something that he needs to improve), but I still think Cacapa should have been more aware. The robust, industrious midfield that was the cornerstone of the 2 previous victories just wasn't there. Butt and Barton not only seemed to be 2nd best to the impressive Bullard and Murphy, but didn't really connect with each other, which in turn gave further encouragement to Fulham to take the ascendancy. The penalty? Well, in today's world, it is a penalty. Johnson seems to have developed a half-dive, half-legit-fall technique. This means; he makes no effort to get out the way of a challenge from the defender and goes over it. But, on the other hand, the defender (Colo) was at fault for sticking his leg out, inviting Johnson to take a tumble. Wouldn't call him a diver in the Gerrard sense, but he goes over easily, aye. So where do Newcastle go now? Well, there's no need to panic. Take a deep breath, get over today and move onto a big game next weekend, and one that if the team can produce a performance of the level of the 1st half against WBA, or the 2nd half against Villa, will most likely end in the 3 points staying on Tyneside.

Are they gonna be really really tired for the rest of the season or what? a legit question imo wasnt that what you said after the game a st. james too? Which is why I'm going to stick to my prediction of Villa being unable to compete effectively on both the domestic and European front. Pleased to see them doing well in Europe and I genuinely hope they get far. But, I just can't see them getting past, say the quarters of the UEFA cup, AND finish 5th. I speak from last season's experience, unfortunately.

Owen and Alves have today both shown how to produce fine defensive clearances, when it looked easier to put it into the net. Impressive stuff tbh.

As some sort of defence to Kinnear today regarding Jonas' subsitution, what did Jonas do to merit staying on? He seemed fairly ineffective for most of the game, and at times looked semi-disinterested. I agree that Duff should have been taken off, but all I'm saying is that, rightly or wrongly, Jonas on the basis of the performance up to the point he as taken off, was deserving of coming off. He wasn't the only one, though.

Apparently it's a swimming pool? Seems they're fairly dominant like.

For the hell of it: Blackburn 1-3 Chelsea Fulham 1-1 Newcastle Villa 2-2 Boro And City 2-1 Spurs